Sound-box for talking-machines.



C. E. WOODS. scum) BOX FOR TALKlNG MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED JAN.2!. 1915.

Patented Nov. 28 1916.

. mmmmme In; mm, mm z N ED; TATES PATENT OFFICE."

CLINTON woons, osimmenronr, oonnnoirrctrr, Assrenon To AMERICAN GRAPHO- PHONE COMPANY, OF BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT, .A' CORPORATION or WEST vmemrn;

' of Bridgeport, F airfield county, Connecticlaimed.

cut, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Sound-Boxes for Talking- Machines, which invention is fully set'forth in the following specification.

This invention'relates to sound-boxes, and more particularly to sound-boxes designed to reproduce sounds from sound-records having thereon a record groove with lateral. or zi-g-zag' undulations. But the invention iscapable of being embodied in sound-boxes employed inconnection with other types ofrecord grooves.

The object of the invention is to diminish the'cost of manufacture of such soundboxes, while improving the acoustic qualities of the reproductions obtained thereby,

Witl1' this object in view,'the invention consists, generally speaking, in forming the sound-box casing of sheet metal or the like stamped into'proper form, and preferably placing a disk of heavy, non resonan't material', such as lead, in' the interior of the sound-box, for the purpose of affording the desirable weight to the sound-box and improving the quality of the acoustic reproductions obtained thereby.

Other features of the invention consist. in the various details of construction and a1,- rangement of parts hereinafter'set forth and The inventive ideainvolvedis capable of receiving a variety of mechanical expressions, one of which, for the sake of illustrating the invention, is shown in the accompanying drawings, but it is to be expressly understood that such: drawings are for the purposes of illustration only,=and not as defining the liinits of the invention, reference being had to the appended'claims forthat purpose. i I

In said dra\vings,-Figure' 1 is an edge view illustrating'one embodiment of the invention: Fig. 2 is a transverse section taken on theline I1 I'I of Fig. 1 andFig. 3 is a sectional 'view, on an enlarged scale, of a detail. I i a Referring to thedra'winggin' which like referencenumerals indicate "like parts throughout the severalviews, "1 is the rear portion of the casing struck. up or pressed 't'ro'n'i "sheet ='1netal, and-is providedwith a SOUND-3px FOR TALKING-MACHINES. I

Patented Nov. 28, 191 c.

Application filed January 21, 1915. Serial No. 3,524.

peripheral flange 2, from which latter extend t-wo ears 3, 3, integral with the flange,

and whose extremities are bent to form annuli (shown in dotted lines in F 2),

which carry the bearings for the stylus bar. Theneck 4 of the sound-box is of the usual form, and is inserted in a :circular opening inthe rear casin 2, and. provided with the usual bayonet-joint groove 5. for securing the sound-box to theusual or any suitable conveyer or tone-arm; Thefrontcasing is also struck up fromsheet metal, and consists' of a' fla-t; annulus 6 provided with a.

peripheral flange 7, which flange is ofsuch internal'diameter as to'fit snugly over the flange '2 of therear casing so that when the two are pressed togethert ey constitute the complete sound-box casing, and are secured together entirelyby friction, The ,periph; eral flange 7 is cut away between the points 8, 8, as indicated in Fig. 1, to provideispacefor the ears 3, f3, and if desired, a portion of purpose.

ing is formed of sheetmetal (jwhi'ch 'is com- 'the annulus 6 may alsobe cut away for this paratively light), a centrally aipertured disk 9 of heavy, non-resonant material, such as lead, is located within the sound-box adiacent the inner face of the back of a m-t r casing 1, preferably with its two'faces parallel respectively. to said inner face and to tlie diaphragm. Any suitable diaphragm- ;may be employed,-lbut preferably one formed of thin sheet metal having a narrow 'upturned ,lia-nge ll (shown in large detail in Fig. 3) is used. A gasket of suitable sound insulating material, as rubber or cork, in the form .of aring 12, is placed adjacent the disk 9. T his gasket may either be provided with an annular groove in 'whichthe flange of the diaphragm s-received, or the flange may be forced into the-material o'fthe gasket when assembling the .parts. A second annu= lar gasket 13 of'suitable sound-insulating 'Illlttll'lfll, as rubberor cork, 1s;pl-.'1cediabove the diaphragm, and preferably one of these gaskets (here shown .as thega'sket 13)- is of 1,

less internal diameter than theother, though if desired, the gasketsmay' be flof the same internal diameter. I I

The stylus bar ll has a reduced innerend secured to the centeroftl1e="diaphragni"inany approved manner, the outer end ofthe stylus bar being. provided. with 'an' enlarged 1 construct and easy to assemble. but it has barrel for receiving the stylus, which may be held in place by the usual set screw 16. Preferably, the stylus bar is mounted upon the points forming the inner ends of screws 6'17 screw-threaded into the annuli formed by the ears 3, 3. The conical points of the screws 17 enter corresponding bearing "sockets on opposite sides of the stylus bar,

I and the screws may either be so adjusted to 110 permit the stylus bar to turn freely upon the points with little or no friction, or, preferably, may be screwed down 'so firmly as torigidly hold the stylus bar and prevent anyfappreciable turning, suitable jam nuts 5 being provided to hold the screws in their ad'usted position. a

he several parts of the sound-box as thus described are all capable of being standardized, produced in quantities, and as stock articles of product may then be readilyassembled into the complete sound-box,'without the employment of skilled labor.

In assembling the parts, the non-resonant disk 9 is-first inserted within the rear casing; the inner gasket 12 is then placed in positiom and the diaphragm, with the inner end of the stylus bar secured thereto, is placed thereon, after which the gasket 13 is placed in position over the diaphragm, and

the front casing, with the space between the ends 8, 8, opposite the ears 3, 3, is then forced over the outer casing under more or 7 less pressure, until the edge of flange '2 abuts a inst the inner face of the annulus 6.

inally, the two pointed screws 17 are introduced into their respectivebearing ears 3, 3, and "turned down until. their points properly engage the seats formed in the side of the barrel 15 on the stylus bar.

Not only is this sound-box inexpensive to been found to give acoustic resultscomparmg favorably with those of tar more expensive colistruction. The disk 9 being of heavy, non-resonant material, serves not only to supply the requisite weight to the structure as a whole. but would appear to contribute materially to the superior acoustic properties of the reprodueer. which has been '50 found to be comparatively free from sound vibrations other than those imparted to the diz ilphragm by the undulations of the record.

, he invention has been described with considerable detail, but only for the sake of clearness. and it is to be expressly under stood that the invention is not limited to the precise construction, arrangement and materials set forth, but is susceptible of a variety *of embodiments. Furthermore, parts of the invention can be used to the exclusion of otherparts, and certain of the parts can be transposed, without departing from the spirit of the invention defined.

What isclaimed is:

1. In a sound-box tor talking-nmchines, a

casing-comprising a front and a rear portion, marginal flangeson said portions fitted tightly one over the other, a diaphragm within said casing, gaskets fitted within said casing around the periphery of said diaphragm, and a centrally-apertured weight of non-resonant material such as lead in, the form of a disk of uniform thickness located within the rear portion of said casing.

2. In a sound-box for talking-machines a two-part easing of sheet metal or the like held together by friction, a non-resonant metallic disk and a diaphragm within said casing, an annular gasket between said disk and diaphragm, and a stylus bar mounted on said casing and secured at one end to said diaphragm.

3. In a sound-box for talking-machines, a diaphragm. annular gaskets on either side of said diaphragm, a metallic disk of nonresonant material adjacent one of said gaskets, and a two-part casing held together by friction and providing a chamber for securely inclosing the whole.

4. A sound-box for talking-machines, comprising a front casing and arear casing fitted tightly one into the other to provide a chamber, annular gaskets within said chamber, a diaphragm between said gaskets, a non-resonant disk of substantially uniform thickness and of heavy material such as lead between one of said gaskets and one wall of said chamber, a stylus-bar connected to said diaphragm, and portions'integral with said rear casing and extending forwardly beyond said front-casing to support said stylus-bar.

5. In a sound-box for talking-machines, a casing of sheet metal or the like forming av diaphragnrchamber, a diaphragm in said chamber, a non-resonant disk of lead or the like between said diaphragm and one wall of said casing, astylus-lmr attached at one end to the center of said diaphragm, and supports integral with said casing and on which said stylus-bar is fulcrumed.

6. In a sound-box for talking-machines, I

a diaphragm," astylus-bar, an annular gasket on each side of said diaphragm, a metallic non-resonant disk adjacent one 0 said gaskets, a two-part casing of sheetmetal or the like held together by friction and constituting a chamber for said diaphragm and disk and gaskets, and bearings on the casing forsaid stylus-bar.

7. A sound-box for talking-machines,

comprising a front casing and a rear casing fitted tightly one into the other'to provide a chamber, annular gaskets within said chamber. a diaphragm between said gaskets, and a disk of non-resonant metal between one ,of said gaskets and the rear wall of said chamber.

8. In a sound-box for talking-machines,

a casing of sheet-metal or the like forming a diaphragm-chamber, a diaphragm in said chamber, and a disk ofnon-resonant metal such as lead between said diaphragm and and constituting phragm.

, said gaskets, and atwo-part casing of sheetin'etal or the like held together by friction a chamber for said dia- 10. In a s0und-b0x for talking-machines, a rear casing open at the front, two gaskets and an interposed diaphragm fitted therein, a acentrally-apertured disk of lead or the like between one gasket and the wall of said,

rear casing-,and a front casing having a. margmal rear flange held irrationally upon said rear casing.

l1.- In a sound-box fortalking machines,

a rear casing open at the front, two gaskets and an interposed diaphragm fitted therein,

a. non-resonant disk of heavy material such as lead adjacent one of said gaskets, and, a front casing having a marginal rear flange held frictionally upon said rear casin 12. In a sound-box for talking-mac ines. a casing forming a chamber having av non resonant metallic sound reflecting surface, a diaphragm mounted between gaskets, in said casing, and a stylus bar mounted on said casing and. connected to. said diah I 13. In a sound-box for tallnng-machines, a casing forming a chamber, a diaphragm suitably held in said chamber, and. a weight of non-resonant material such as lead lo.- cated within said chamber at the .rear of said diaphragm.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CLINTON E. WOODS.

Witnesses:

LAURETTA T. NEAL, FRANK O. HINCKLEY. 

